Big Ten Basketball: Rivals Michigan, Ohio State leads latest power rankings
By Adam Childs
6. team. 493. . 14-6 (8-5). . Badgers
Wisconsin was my pick to win the Big Ten this year. They returned almost everybody and the emergence of Micah Potter at the end of the year seemed like a good combination.
It’s not like they are playing poorly, but just not as well as I thought they would. They still play tough defense and can knock down the three with the best of them, but if that isn’t working they are in trouble.
That was never more evident than when they went down by 40 to Michigan a month ago. They haven’t played that bad since, but it just showed their weakness. Shut down the outside shot and you have a great chance against the Badgers.
They also struggle against teams that are big. The Badgers have an inside presence but it isn’t very big. If you have a dominant big man then they are in trouble.
This is still a team to watch out for come March, but they have their limitations.
13-7 (8-5). . Boilermakers . 5. team. 492.
Matt Painter just keeps doing it. He takes a team with little to no expectations and makes them a contender. This team is led by Trevion Williams, but not much else was known about them.
Sasha Stefanovic has been lethal from deep shooting just over 44% from behind the arc. The rest of the team has found their niche and are playing some great basketball.
They aren’t going to overly impress you with their game but they just find ways to win. They already have a sweep on now number four Ohio State in what will surely be the key to their NCAA bid.
They have a tough matchup at Minnesota on Thursday, but if they can win that they will securely be in the top half of the Big Ten and maybe more.